By Tony Owusu Brick-and-mortar giant Walmart is spending big to counter Amazon’s increasingly aggressive encroachment on its turf. Walmart (WMT) – Get Walmart Inc. Report has had to play catchup for years as Amazon (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report has caught and passed the big box retailer as the country’s go-to shopping option. Amazon’s exponential growth in the new millennium has similarities to Walmart’s growth in the 90’s before the internet changed everything. Unlike Amazon, Walmart had for years been comfortable staying in its own big box lane while Amazon expanded into multiple othe…